Authorities in Hong Kong summoned international news organizations to a rare meeting on Saturday to warn against “false information and smear campaigns” surrounding the city’s deadliest fire in nearly eight decades and upcoming legislative elections.
The Office for Safeguarding National Security said some recent reports by foreign media have “disregarded facts, spread false information” and “incited social division and confrontation.” An official at the meeting, which included journalists from Bloomberg News, used a Chinese phrase equivalent to “do not say you have not been warned.” No specific examples were provided.